Significant Transactions, Dispositions of Apartment Communities and Assets Held for Sale (Details Textual) $ in Thousands	6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2017 USD ($) Units Property	Dec. 31, 2016 USD ($)
Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Additional Disclosures by Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Noncontrolling interests in consolidated real estate partnerships	$ (2,609)	$ 151,121
Revolving loan commitments	600,000	600,000
Assets	6,199,202	6,232,818
Liabilities	$ 4,619,566	4,184,651
Wholly And Partially Owned Consolidated Properties [Member] \| Disposal Group, Disposed of by Sale, Not Discontinued Operations [Member]
Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Additional Disclosures by Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Number of apartment homes in apartment communities \| Units	252
Gain on dispositions of real estate, applicable income taxes	$ 900
Gain on dispositions of real estate	$ 2,600
Number of apartment communities \| Property	2
Wholly And Partially Owned Consolidated Properties [Member] \| Assets Held-for-sale [Member]
Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Additional Disclosures by Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Number of apartment communities \| Property	0
Aimco Real Estate [Member]
Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Additional Disclosures by Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Term loan, gross	$ 249,040	$ 0
Number of apartment homes in apartment communities \| Units	39,045
Number of apartment communities \| Property	137
Aimco Real Estate [Member] \| Wholly And Partially Owned Consolidated Properties [Member]
Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Additional Disclosures by Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Number of apartment homes in apartment communities \| Units	39,045
Number of apartment communities \| Property	137
Aimco Real Estate [Member] \| Palazzo Joint Venture - Los Angeles CA [Member] \| Palazzo Acquisition [Member]
Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Additional Disclosures by Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Noncontrolling interests in consolidated real estate partnerships	$ 451,500
Noncontrolling limited partner interest (percent)	47.00%
Noncontrolling interest partner's share of existing non-recourse property-level debt	$ 140,500
Term loan, gross	$ 250,000
Term loan interest rate	30-day LIBOR plus 1.35%
Term loan issue costs	$ 1,000
Number of apartment homes in apartment communities \| Units	1,382
Number of apartment communities \| Property	3
Payments to acquire noncontrolling limited partner interest in real estate partnership	$ 311,000
Adjustments to additional paid in capital, other	$ 155,600

Noncontrolling Limited Partner Interest, Non-recourse Debt Assumed

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Amount of other increase (decrease) in additional paid in capital (APIC).

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Sum of the carrying amounts as of the balance sheet date of all assets that are recognized. Assets are probable future economic benefits obtained or controlled by an entity as a result of past transactions or events.

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Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 944
-SubTopic 210
-Section S99
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (SX 210.7-03(a)(12))
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Amount, before accumulated amortization, of debt issuance costs. Includes, but is not limited to, legal, accounting, underwriting, printing, and registration costs.

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The difference between the carrying value and the sale price of real estate or properties that were intended to be sold or held for capital appreciation or rental income. This element refers to the gain (loss) included in earnings and not to the cash proceeds of the sale. This element is a noncash adjustment to net income when calculating net cash generated by operating activities using the indirect method.

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Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
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This element represents the applicable amount of income taxes or benefit realized on the gain (loss) on sale of properties during the reporting period.

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Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
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-Name Accounting Standards Codification
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Line items represent financial concepts included in a table. These concepts are used to disclose reportable information associated with domain members defined in one or many axes to the table.

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Sum of the carrying amounts as of the balance sheet date of all liabilities that are recognized. Liabilities are probable future sacrifices of economic benefits arising from present obligations of an entity to transfer assets or provide services to other entities in the future.

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Maximum borrowing capacity under the credit facility without consideration of any current restrictions on the amount that could be borrowed or the amounts currently outstanding under the facility.

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Carrying amount of the equity interests owned by noncontrolling partners of a limited partnership included in the entity's consolidated financial statements.

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The equity interest of noncontrolling shareholders, partners or other equity holders in consolidated entity.

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The number of real estate properties owned as of the balance sheet date.

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The number of units in a real estate property owned as of the balance sheet date.

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The cash outflow from the purchase of ownership in a partnership, the purpose of which is to construct, sell, hold or invest in real estate.

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Amount of borrowings from a bank classified as other, maturing within one year or operating cycle, if longer.

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-Name Accounting Standards Codification
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Description of the short-term debt arrangement, and disclosures pertaining to the underlying arrangements, including repayment terms, interest rates, restrictions on assets and activities, debt covenants, and other matters important to users of the financial statements.

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